So I spent the last year replaying the series; I started right after the vague announcement of GS6 came out last August/September. (By the way, if you ever want to marathon the games in preparation for a new one, be sure to give yourself enough time to lost and regain interest many times. For previous releases I've tried to play all the games in like 2 months and by the time you're done you just don't want to play any more AA. By taking a year I was able to put it down for like 2 or 3 months and not "run out of time". This time around, too, I decided to see how I really felt about each game by rating each case on a 1 to 5 scale, and through that extrapolated a overall opinion on the game. This is a lot of info, and I just did it for fun, but if anyone is interested in reading beyond the overall ratings I also put some thoughts down on each case. Keep in mind: I tried to rate them based on what I felt now, which obviously is based on playing them again and again. My thoughts the first time or second time through might have been different and perhaps more valid (the game's aren't really meant to be interesting/just as exciting after this many replays) but I don't remember how I felt so I'm just coming at it from this angle.

My question to you is: do you have any definite feelings like I do on each game? what's your favorite? least favorite? any review-ish or opinionated thoughts on the games? Anything else you want to bring up? I'm interested in hearing everybody's thoughts on the franchise as a whole. Remember, though, that if you have thoughts on any unreleased games (DGS, SoJ, maybe GK2 I guess, although I think everyone has either played or read about that one by now?) not to mention any spoilers (or tag them), because a lot of us haven't played them yet!

Here was the final rating I got for each game, in percentage values with 100% being the best and 0% being the worst. (I gave each case a 1 to 5 rating and then averaged them to come up with this):

Some quick thoughts for each game (I try to keep it short, so I don't mention every admiration and critique for each game, but I'm happy to talk more about things if you wish:

Spoiler: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (GS1)

The first game is still the best one "objectively" (although nothing is actually objective) because of its simplicity, the relative-grounded nature of the narrative and the good variety between plot cases and stand-alone cases. However, the first case stops it from being the best on my personal list. Here are my individual case ratings:

1-1 The First Turnabout - 3/5 --- The first case is simple in order to show new players the game, but its too short and the fact that it shows the killer in the beginning doesn't leave a lot of mystery left in the case (other games have done this but they have a lot more details that throw off the player's assumptions. This one is pretty clear-cut. I admit I played AJ first and so this case from the beginning seemed too simple compared to my first "first case". I just don't enjoy it that much.

1-2 Turnabout Sisters 5/5 --- This one is pretty short but it's pretty perfect to me. It does show the killer, but as I said it offers a lot of other details that need to be sorted out like why he killed her and all the stuff about Bluecorp. It's a good intro to Maya and it sets up 4-4 in a way that doesn't scream "this is going to come up again!".

1-3 Turnabout Samurai 5/5 --- I love filler cases, and I think this case is really good. I like that it has nothing to do with the rest of the game; something that a lot of filler cases don't do anymore - a lot of times the developers now try and somehow connect every case in the game to the main plot, but personally I like how seeing a couple of unrelated "just doing my job" cases help to bring out the time that passes in each game. Each game (except for ones like AAI and VS) generally takes place over around a year or so, and the early games especially make you really feel like that amount of time has passed by the last case - something that I didn't really feel in later games. Overall I just like all the twists and the location.

1-4 Turnabout Goodbyes 5/5 --- Just like the other cases, I think the pacing is great in this, and I think it brings everything happening in the game together really well. While I'm not a huge fan of Manfred, the other parts of the plot make up for it and it all wraps up in a good way.

1-5 Rise from the Ashes 5/5 --- Just like with Turnabout Samurai, this is a case that I love but that a lot of people aren't a fan of. I'm much more lenient about plot holes and narrative contradictions generally (see my opinion of 4-3) if the case intrigues me, and that's the case here. It's really long, but that's alright with me since it is kind of a stand alone game rather than something directly tied to the last cases, and it offers a lot of variety in the locations and things to do (something which later long cases like I-5 didn't do well, in my opinion). It's kind of weird because if we didn't have the rest of the series ahead of this game, I might criticize this case a little bit for undermining the finality of 4-4's ending, (something I'm curious about with SoJ's DLC) but since we were all aware there were other games coming up I don't think it really is a valid point in-context. Overall, I just think it's a great stand-alone "minigame" which shows one of the few times Phoenix takes a case without any real connection to the Fey arc or whatever the plot of each game is.

Overall Thoughts --- As you can see, I really love all the cases with the exception of 1-1; if that case was as great as the rest this game would beat AJ on my list. I think it has a great presentation, and even though I love games like DD and GK2 I appreciate how "grounded" the first game is - the cases and characters aren't nearly as over-the-top as the later games. This isn't a criticism of that, but just that I like having a more subtle game along with the more exaggerated ones. I think it has the best pursuit theme, as well as the best "find the truth" theme Overall the music is great, and without a doubt the credits music for 1-4 is still my favorite out of the whole series. It's so sentimental, emotional, and hopeful at the same time.

Spoiler: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All (GS2)

Overall, I don't think Justice for All is as bad as I used to, although I still really dislike the Circus case. I realized I actually like the other cases more than I thought. Here are my specific thoughts:

2-1 The Lost Turnabout 4/5 Generally 4/5 seems to be the average AA case score: I like it a lot and it's fun but it isn't the most memorable case on the planet. That's my thought on this case. Overall, it's better than 1-1 but isn't as good as a case like 4-1. I like Maggey as a character and the crime is interesting. I like the amnesia plot point but I'm not as big on Maya showing up - while it's more interesting than just having her come back in 2-2, I think her appearance in 2-2 has more weight and in general I'm not huge on the non-linear progression of the games which occur over long periods of time. I prefer it like they did with GS1 and AJ.

2-2 Reunion, and Turnabout 5/5 --- I really like this case. I always like the "supernatural" cases (I'm a big fan of things like The X-Files which also blend crime and seeming supernatural occurrences) and this one has a great setup: your client is a jerk, your assistant seemingly is caught on camera murdering him, and in the end there's a big family conspiracy. I also like that they leave it open in a vague way. While they show Morgan scheming to put Pearl in charge, it's not mentioned in the rest of the game and first-time players generally won't know this comes back in 3-5, so it puts out this lingering sense of tension, where you wonder when it's going to come up again in this game and it never does.

2-3 Turnabout Big Top 3/5 --- I don't have any interest in circuses at all, and I don't really like any of the characters in this case, so I just generally don't care a lot about the case. This is purely subjective; if someone loved circuses but had no interest in television production then our scores for this case and 1-3 would probably be flipped. But I just don't ever feel the need to know what happens next like other cases. Having said that, even the worst AA case is still a really fun time, and I still enjoy it (for the record, no AA case actually got less than a 3/5, to my surprise).

2-4 Farewell, My Turnabout 5/5 --- I like this case a lot, because it raises the stakes in a really different way than 1-4 and doesn't rely on an old case that's brought up again. The kidnapping of Maya brings a sense of urgency to everything and makes the investigation segments more tense and exciting (especially scenes like when Phoenix and Edgeworth go to Engarde's house and the player knows that Maya's there but the characters don't). As said before, I like that it doesn't deal with Morgan's plans for revenge. The brief segments where the player controls Maya are very creepy as well. Overall a really good case.

Overall thoughts I always thought I didn't like JFA, but it turns out I like it a lot, and while in 2008 it was last on the list, now there are a couple of games that I like less. It shows that you should always rethink your opinion on what you do and don't like frequently, because tastes change a lot. I still don't like the circus case, but it doesn't ruin the other cases from being really good.

Spoiler: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations (GS3)

I think Trials and Tribulations is really good, although not as good as other games and in my opinion not the best game in the franchise as many feel. Still, no 3/5 cases and it wraps up the trilogy in a really good way.

3-1 Turnabout Memories 4/5 --- I was never a fan of this young Phoenix (I'm not big on the soap opera drama of T&T, and I don't like how different he acts here) but everything else about the case is pretty good. Dahlia is interesting, especially in relation to 3-4. Playing as Mia is fun because the player never really got to know her too much in the other games, since she was a ghostly authority figure who showed up to help you every once in a while.

3-2 The Stolen Turnabout 4/5 --- This is one of those cases where my opinions the first or second time through might be completely different than my 5thth time. Right now, after playing this game again and again over the years (I think this was my 5th time through the game, I didn't find the case too interesting, because the major "turnabout" of the game is the whole "Is Atmey Mask Demasque or Isn't he" and once you know that the case doesn't offer a lot more to you. However, it's still a lot of fun, the characters are enjoyable and I like the KB security environment a lot. It barely gets a 4 rather than a 3, but it's a 4/5 for me.

3-3 Recipe for Turnabout 4/5 --- This is another hard one because I don't really care for the characters at all, especially Jean Armstrong who I don't find to be a well-written character. (in fact, I think he's offensive - I think he's a disrespectful stereotype, especially in context to how the other characters view him). The other ones don't do anything for me either. If I was grading on the characters alone this case would get a 3, but the actual case and the turnabouts are pretty good so it gets a 4, barely.

3-4 Turnabout Beginnings 5/5 --- This is one of the best cases of all time in my opinion. It's really unique in that its so devoid of humor and the common vibe the franchise brings to the table. I'm not one of those people who think "darker and grittier is better" (in fact, I often criticize that point of view as a way for adults to try and "age" the things they liked as a child in order to not feel weird about liking a "kid's thing", or in order to try and shape a franchise into the current overall tone people enjoy - something that might change in 10 or 20 years). However, it works here because of the context in which this case sits: the unresolved, sad case that determined both Mia's and Phoenix's paths fighting for Justice. The fact that it doesn't have a good ending is unique, as is how subtle and grounded everything is. None of the characters are really crazy; they wouldn't look out of place in a "serious" law show on TV. While Dahlia is interesting in 3-1, here is where she really shines. She emits this sense of deceit and evil that doesn't really have a place in the tone of other episodes in the series, but at the same time that evil can be charted to a starting point and doesn't just show up, like a lot of villains in games like DD. It sets up the next case nicely, and is one of the few cases where I emerged unsettled by what happened. For an animated sprite-based game with little violence, that's surprising.

3-5 Bridge to the Turnabout 5/5 --- As I said, I don't personally enjoy the "feenie" relationship stuff that much, so I echo some criticisms people have about the game, but the setup for the game is so creepy and mysterious - Phoenix seeing his dead murderous girlfriend in the newspaper. Everything from the Snowy, rural location to the supernatural aspects and the twisting plot hits all the marks that make me interested. I know some fans really don't enjoy the genuine supernatural aspects, but as I said I love them (in moderation, at least) so this case is great despite feeling like the Iris stuff is poorly-written and wooden. It's disappointing because the character of Iris could be really interesting, considering what she was put through and the emotional aftershocks of the weird relationship Phoenix and her have. To my knowledge, Iris has never returned, and in some ways that's disappointing because her relationship with Phoenix (the general "where do we go from here"/"get through our baggage" more than the actual romantic relationship) would be really interesting to explore, especially considering that she's in jail, but on the other hand this has never been the kind of series to really explore those kinds of things (with the exception of maybe AJ) so it's probably for the best that she hasn't returned.

Overall ThoughtsThe game is a good wrap-up to the trilogy, and I really like the plot cases even though the stand-alone cases aren't the best. I like the creepy, supernatural stuff despite not being huge on how heavy-handed the relationship stuff is. A really good AA game.

Spoiler: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (GS4)

AJ is my favorite. No doubt some of that is nostalgia as it was my first AA game, but I also just really enjoy the tone and the style of the game, and I like how creepy a lot of it is.

4-1 Turnabout Trump 5/5 --- This is the best "First" case, in my opinion. It's a good length, it doesn't give the killer away, and uses the player's perception of Phoenix in an interesting way. I think having the "Mia figure" really be a murderer is great too.

4-2 Turnabout Corner 5/5 --- I really like this case, despite not being a fan of the whole panty joke that seems to have become Trucy's major character trait. I think the case is really interesting and the locations are great. Klavier is really cool because he's such a different prosecutor than most of them we see in the games; he's not antagonistic from the beginning, which is great because I honestly get bored of the antagonistic prosecutor stopping at nothing to destroy Phoenix at this point.

4-3 Turnabout Serenade 4/5 --- I really love this case because of it's creepiness factor. Everything from the mysterious moving bodies to the murder being caught on the song recording really get my excitement and interest. There are some inconsistencies, (such as the whole recoil point many bring up) and I'm not huge on some of the characters, but in my opinion the tone and feel of the case makes up for any of those problems.

4-4 Turnabout Succession 5/5 -- Turnabout Succession might be my favorite case. I love the MASON system, because of how different it is from anything seen before. It brings Technology and that creepiness into it (it has my favorite intro sequence in any because of this) and it has the unique ability to cover so much time - rather than just referencing an old case, we get to live it. I do think that the actual flashback could have been handled better. It seems questionable that Phoenix would have acted the way he did, although honestly people have given him evidence randomly all the time so he didn't do anything any different. It's more his attitude that's strange. But the MASON system makes up for it, in my opinion, as well as for the plot issues it brings up - although you can explain a lot of that if you look at it as a simulated experience that Thalassa is viewing as a member of the Jury. I feel that despite wanting more GS games so bad (and I'm still overjoyed we got DD and SoJ), in some ways this is the best way to end the franchise, because Phoenix solves his own case but doesn't decide to immediately get back into law (although with DD obviously he ended up doing that). When this game was the last chronologically, I always assumed Phoenix would continue to be retired, Apollo would continue the tradition, and Phoenix as a character was wrapped up. I still think this is Phoenix's last bit of development, as in DD he was still "complete" (I don't know what happens in SoJ, though).

Overall Thoughts As I first played AJ, I'm unable to separate the fact that to me, this is the "real" Phoenix - the more experienced, dry, and seemingly-oblivious-but-actually-aware mentor. Because of that, I'm not going to be able to look at him from the perspective of most players, but at the same time I think that even if I had played the other games first, I don't think I would have had a problem with his portrayal. I wonder how much of the criticism over what happened to him is because of fans feelings its actually poorly written or if they're just depressed about Phoenix losing his badge. I think while the way they handled the actual scene where he screws up wasn't handled that well, the rest of his story was great. I think Phoenix is far from being shoe-horned in, despite Takumi being forced to include him. I think Apollo being the player character finally gave Phoenix a chance to have some character development of his own. The major appeal of AJ for me is that it continuously breaks the player's expectations of what they thought would happen: Phoenix lost his badge, Ema didn't succeed at becoming a Forensic scientist and now is grumpy and jaded, a lot of your clients are less innocent than they appear, and in the end the person in charge of the final outcome is a normal citizen. It's reminiscent to me of the Star Wars Prequels (ignoring the discussion of those films' quality) - the creator made something new and different from the previous work, something that deliberately tried to break expectations of how events occurred in order to create a surprising story. I think just like with those films, while a lot of criticism comes from legitimate places, I wonder how much of the criticisms come from the work simply being so different than the original. Personally, I like a sequel that tries to do something drastically new with the IP, rather than something that gives me more of the same. With AA, nothing really changes (I honestly look at new AA games as like "seasons" of the same TV show rather than new works entirely). Apart from the technical changes of AAI, I think in terms of tone and taking the plot in unexpected directions, AJ is the most unique of the franchise.

Spoiler: Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations (GK)

I think I like AAI more than many do. It was new and different and I like Edgeworth a lot. However, I didn't think all the cases were perfect.

I-1 Turnabout Visitor 4/5 --- Turnabout Visitor had a really good setup, and it had a lot of cool turns. The fact that it took place in an office was a return to the more grounded cases of GS1, which is good because of how much more over-the-top the game gets as it goes on.

I-2 Turnabout Airlines 5/5 --- Once again, this is a unique case that I enjoy a lot; in fact, it's my favorite case of the game. I think its the perfect length, it has fun characters and it has a lot of good twists and turns.

I-3 The Kidnapped Turnabout 4/5 --- I like the setup to this case, but I think it runs a little long and I don't think the case-specific characters are that great (that excludes main characters like Lang). I would have liked if we got to see more of the park, rather than have so much of it take place in the Wild West storeroom. Just like with I-5, I would like this case more if it was a little shorter.

I-4 Turnabout Reminiscence 4/5 --- At this point in the franchise, I'm starting to grow weary of flashback cases, at least about characters we know. Kind of like Phoenix in 3-1, I feel that while it's nice to see the character younger and in a different place, it doesn't offer enough reason to why w need to. I understand that it relates to young Kay, but I still found myself caring about this case least out of all the ones in the game. Still, its interesting and unlike I-5 it's a good length.

I-5 Turnabout Ablaze 3/5 --- If I was just basing this rating on the first few chapters of this case, it would get a 5/5 from me. I like the embassy location, the overall plot of the case and the different twists that occur. My problem is the pacing. This case is way too long, especially the ending confrontation with Alba. I found myself dreading that part as it came up. I think it has to do with my thoughts below.

Overall Thoughts I think AAI is a lot harder to replay again and again than the other games. While the other games are text adventures which let you just relax and enjoy the ride a lot, this game requires a lot more interactivity. This makes the game possibly more fun than the main series on the first or second play-through but tedious on the 5th. While in the other games you don't have to do that much work to "find the truth", in this game repeating conclusions you've made on previous playthroughs is long and drawn-out. I also get much more bored of the rebuttals than the main games' cross-examinations, which I've talked about over on the AAI forum. In the main games, cross-examinations are constantly giving you more new info, and the plot twists come from taking those apart. In AAI, the rebuttals are the opposite. You're making a claim, and then the other side tries to take it apart. As a result, not a lot of new info comes from the rebuttals and (especially if you're like me where you press every statement) it gets much more tedious than the cross-examinations. Overall, AAI did a lot of cool things but things were just a little too drawn out for me. While I dislike the non-linear progression of the cases for the games that take a long time, I do like it here because all the cases happen within days of eachother so it doesn't feel so random.

Spoiler: Gyakuten Kenji 2/Prosecutor's Path (GK2)

I think GK2 fixed a lot of the pacing problems with GK1, or at least made the cases more complicated in order to provide more details for that length. I think it did a good job of providing Edgeworth with the final bit of character development he needed to become the "complete" character we see in DD.

Gk2-1 Turnabout Target 5/5 --- This case is probably the best "first" case after 1-4. The assassination plot is different than things before, and it really uses the ability AAI has that the main games don't - that the case can be progressing while its being solved. Usually in the main games, by the tie the lawyer is involved the murder has occurred and the evidence is all there. In this case, a lot is continuing to happen while Edgeworth is investigating, including more supposed threats on the "president's" life. A really exciting and cool case.

GK2-2 The Imprisoned Turnabout 4/5 --- This case is really good too, and the location is interesting. GK2 is focused a lot on being a game celebrating the anniversary of the franchise, so apart from having really cool references and connections to the other games, this case specifically is cool because it shows a place we've been to many times in more detail.

GK2-3 The Inherited Turnabout 4/5 --- This case is a little on the long side, but its interesting enough that it makes up for it. Playing as Gregory Edgeworth is fantastic and it really feels like its contributing to the franchise as a whole, similar to playing as Mia in T&T. I'm actually not massively interested in the whole sweets/recipe thing, but everything else about the case is fun.

GK2-4 The Forgotten Turnabout 4/5 --- This case is also a little long, but the amnesia thing is interesting and it's nice to have a case in the city again - we don't actually see that much of the "downtown" areas of Japanifornia (this is also true of GK2-5).

GK2-5 The Grand Turnabout 5/5 --- This case wraps up everything well and has a lot of variety. The surprise villain isn't an interesting to me as DD's (although I played DD first so that may be the reason) but it's still fun to sort out.

Overall Thoughts I think GK2 perfected what they did with GK1, even though if you were to ask me what overall plot I liked better I'd say GK1. This game's cases were better paced and more even.

Spoiler: Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (VS)

I didn't care for this game that much, even though I really like Layton and AA. I felt the AA parts were weak and the plot really didn't do anything interesting with the characters. In some ways its a good final case (if you consider it canon in its place in between 3-5 and 4-4) for Maya and Phoenix, and Maya's "death" adds to their relationship, even though in my opinion it was handled well, but I don't think it really contributes to their progression in any way.) I know a lot feel that this game is better than DD, but I feel completely the opposite. I think it has to do with what people want in an AA game, and I really want hard-to-predict cases that start off crazy and then get sorted out. Because of the game's location and the fact that the mystery behind "magic" isn't revealed until the end of the game, that normal AA progression doesn't happen and its less interesting to me. I also don't like the game very much visually. I think its kind of ironic that I love the supernatural stuff in the other games so much, while here I don't, but I think its about the tone. This is a fantasy world where the supernatural discussion is "does magic exist?"; the other cases I like so much use supernatural events in a creepy way - how did the bodies get moved, who was Dahlia channeled by when she murdered the victim, etc. The supernatural elements in this game aren't unsettling like they are in the main series. If you're wondering why my general thoughts are first here, its because there are so many chapters in this game that I don't remember how I felt about each individual one - all I have are my ratings. Here they are:

VS-1 On A Dark and Stormy Night 5/5VS-2 English Turnabout 5/5VS-3 Mysterious Labyrinthia 4/5VS-4 The Fire Witch 4/5VS-5 The Great Witch 4/5VS-6 The Golden Court 3/5VS-7 A Taste of Despair 3/5VS-8 Secrets of the Underground Ruins 3/5VS-9 The Story's End 3/5VS-10 The Final Witch Trial 3/5VS-11 The Last Inquisitor 4/5VS-12 The First Story 4/5

As you can see, I seem to have really liked the early set up of the story (which is really cool) and the initial explorations of the lore (I do remember loving the secret creepy room with the fire mural under the library) but as the game continues and it gets into the Layton Statue/Maya's "Death" part of the story I start not enjoying it that much, only seeming to get into it again in the end. For the record, I've played all the Layton games, and this is my rating for the Layton games:

1. Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy2. Professor Layton and the Last Spector3. All the rest of them (I find the rest kind of good but not great, like 7/10)

As you can see, I'm not the traditional Layton fan (from what I've heard most prefer the original trilogy to the prequels and Azran isn't considered great) so maybe that has something to do with it, but I think it just honestly doesn't give me the traditional AA crime progression. Its great of them to experiment, though, and I'm glad the game exists.

Spoiler: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (GS5)

Thank god, we're on the last one! (I'm getting tired of writing!) I really like Dual Destinies. It is kind of a predictable sequel (more on that later) but I enjoy it a lot.

Turnabout Countdown 4/5 --- In theory, I love the setup to this case, so I should like it more than I do. I think honestly part of why I'm not in love with it is that I saw so much of it as DD developed, so by the time I got around to playing it I felt like I'd played it five times already. (That's one reason why I've been avoiding previews of cases in SoJ - the first experience I had with the 1st case was the demo last week.) So it's fun and exciting but like 3-2 it doesn't offer a lot more than the big two or so twists that I already knew going in anyway.

The Monstrous Turnabout 5/5 --- This is my favorite case in DD, and I think it's the closest to an Apollo Justice case - in 2008 when I assumed "Apollo Justice 2" would be coming soon, this is the kind of case I'd expect. I like the Yokai aspect, and the creepiness of the locations like the Tenma Taro chamber. I'm not big on them showing the killer in case 1, though. Overall, it's super interesting to me and I like Athena a lot. And Apollo being my favorite character, this gives me the closest thing to "Apollo Justice 2" that DD offers.

Turnabout Academy 3/5 --- This might be my least favorite AA case. I don't care at all about the school setting (even less than the circus) and I don't really like any of the characters. I also find the whole friendship thing heavy-handed. It's fun to play as Athena, though.

The Cosmic Turnabout 4/5 --- I really like the setup to the case, and it's great to play as Apollo a little more. I'm not as into it as 5-5, but it's still cool. It is obvious it was once the first part of 5-5, though, and as a result it feels bizarre, although its not that different from case 4s from games like T&T and GK2.

Turnabout for Tomorrow 5/5 --- I think this case is great. It is more interesting than 5-4 in terms of the space aspect, and I think the Phantom is a really different and cool character. Kind of like Kristoph in AJ, it's interesting to have an antagonist who doesn't have the normal over-the-top reason for why he kills. I grow tired of every villain having some petty reasoning for why he killed someone, so its unsettling and creepy to have a villain who has a different agenda. Unfortunately I was accidentally spoiled regarding the Phantom's identity before I started DD, so I can't comment on how surprising it was, but I still thought it was a great moment and something that no game had done in this magnitude before.

Overall Thoughts I previously compared AJ to the Star Wars prequels: it was a sequel that tried to be different or spin the original in a way that audiences wouldn't have predicted. I feel like DD is kind of equivalent to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. A well-done, fun work that gives fans exactly what they "want", with the downside being that its predictable and doesn't try to change the formula up or do something really different. It's more of the same. I really liked the game, and my expectations were met. In fact, I think I like it a lot more than a lot of fans do. However, I found myself wishing they would have taken some of the more interesting aspects of AJ - the jury system, Phoenix in his weird new role - and explored them more. Phoenix generally acts like AJ Phoenix when we can't hear his internal thoughts, but I miss some of the more mysterious and dry aspects of his AJ personality. I think DD is a really good but not amazing AA game.

Wow, that's a lot of writing, especially since I did all of it in one go base on my notes. For all I know I'm the only one who will ever read all of this, but it was a fun project to analyze all this as I was playing through the series over the last year. I probably made all sorts of spelling errors, but I'm too tired to review right now so I'll review it later. If you've played DGS or SoJ, feel free to put up spoiler-free reviews of those games (or tag the spoilers, preferably separately than the tags you use to condense like I did, so people could read your thoughts without reading spoilers. This might have been better as individual topics on each subforum, but I was looking at it from the perspective of analyzing each game in the context of the entire series so I went with that.

So, what are your thoughts on the franchise, a specific game, or anything else?

Welcome to SC's Case Rankings™! This is where I rank EACH AND EVERY case from the Ace Attornet series! This includes the six main games,the 2 spinoffs with Edgeworth,the Layton crossover,and DGS! So I recommend you peruse with caution if you don't want to be spoiled on some games you haven't played. The recommended board style for this is the 2010 movie one. It's not needed,but it will give the best experience.

Now on with the show! You can use the handy dandy spoiler tag to read my rankings in a nutshell,or you can click one of them and be transported to a certain writeup. Or you could scroll down. It's up to you. Right below this post is the official Hint Box™ of SC's Case Rankings™,and I recommend you check it out as well if you want to play a little game while you go through this. Till then,I wish you all-yes,each and every single one of you-happy reading!

Spoiler: If you don't want to spoil yourselves on the rankings,don't click this,but if you want to go reread a specific one,you can use this then

[READ THIS FROM DOWN TO UP. IT WILL MAKE WAY MORE SENSE THAT WAY]

Ichiyanagi Tier™ Did someone get that...?

This is THE cream of the crop. Debeste cases ever,no question about it. All final cases here,and mostly from the trilogy. The score here ranges from 8.5 to a little below 10 (because as good as these cases are,they aren't flawless).

Yes,now we're reaching the cream of the crop,and it doesn't disappoint! These are nearly perfect,and only minor flaws prevent them from breaking the top five. There's mostly final cases but a few non-finales as well. The score ranges from 8 to a little below 8.5.

Now we are onto the really really good cases,and these are seriously entertaining in every way possible. The best of the filler cases will be here (except maybe one or two), and a few finales. Their score ranges from 7.5 but not quite to 8.

Now this is where things start to get interesting. Mostly third and fourth cases here,but I have no major problems with the cases here. From here on out,the rankings on the cases will be way more positive,from 7 and above,but below 7.5.

Now most of my complaints dissipate as the cases start getting good,as the title implies. The tutorial case(s) here are some of the better ones,but the final case(s) here are not really that good,but better than the others. But most of these cases are just filler and buildup cases. Their score is from 6.5, but not above or equal to 7.

These cases are the worst of the bunch,but they all still have redeeming qualities that make me still like them in the end. Their score is above 6 but lesser than 6.5.They mostly consist of DLC cases and first cases,though a few second,third,and even fourth cases sneak their way in here.

So I guess that's all. Thanks for checking out the official SC's Case Rankings™! If you do have any problems or want to give some constructive criticism,or even just want to talk about any of the cases here,it'd be appreciated (as long as you spoiler tag it-I don't want anyone spoiled! Just use the term 'SC-xx',where xx refers to the number of a specific ranking). This is still my first ranking,and I'm trying my hardest to fine-tune it for everyone's enjoyment! Thanks everyone, and Stay Viral™

Hello,everybody! Welcome to the official Hint Box™ of SC's rankings! Whether you've scrolled down a bit or pressed the little button at the end of a certain ranking,this is your guide for the hints!

So,what exactly is the Hint Box™ (or HB™)? It's rather simple. Basically,at the end of each ranking,I give a hint for what the next case which I'll be ranking is. The HB™ is here to help you determine what the next case is. Please do note that there's always more than one possibility,so as to make it a challenge.

The format for HB™ is:

Example wrote:

Spoiler: SC-xx (the xx represents the number on my rankings,and is referring to the case to which the hint is provided for,not the case which provides the hint)

Hint: The hint provided for the case,paraphrased.

Possible Cases: The cases which the hint could be referring to.

Reasoning: The reasoning for why these could be the only cases and why this or that case isn't included here. Only applicable for cases which aren't self-explanatory.

Actual Answer: The case which the hint was actually referring to. Only given after the ranking for that case is released. There's some space here in case you don't want to be spoiled.

Simple,right? Alright,then! Let's start!

Spoiler: SC-50

Hint: A filler third case in a Yamazaki game.

Possible Cases: I-3,5-3

Reasoning: Both of these cases arguably don't really contribute that much to the overall plot,and can thus be labelled as filler. I2-3 deals with the IS-7 incident and 6-3 with the DC Act Tragedy,so they have a huge role in the plot.

Actual Answer: I-3

Spoiler: SC-49

Hint: A first case with huge relevance to the overall plot of its respective game.

Possible Cases: 3-1,4-1,5-1,6-1,I-1,I2-1

Reasoning: These cases should be self-explanatory,so let me explain about the others. 1-1 and 2-1 are pretty much filler;L-1 has a little relevance but not huge;and D-1,while seeming to have huge relevance,never comes into play in DGS1 itself.

Actual Answer:5-1

Spoiler: SC-48

Hint: A case with Larry in it.

Possible Cases: 1-1,1-4,3-2,3-5,6-6,I-5,I2-3

Reasoning: Self-explanatory.

Actual Answer:6-6

Spoiler: SC-47

Hint: A fourth case that's filler.

Possible Cases: 6-4,D-4

Reasoning: These both are fourth cases which don't contribute to the overall plot. Definitely filler.

Actual Answer: D-4

Spoiler: SC-46

Hint: A tutorial case with absurd logic.

Possible Cases: 2-1,I2-1

Reasoning: Obviously,this one's pretty subjective,but these are the only two that come to mind. 2-1 due to the whole broken neck contradiction which is never pointed out among others,and I2-1 for that absurd contradiction where you prove that the red dot on the president's forehead is just a laser pointer. The others never really reach that level of absurdity,at least in my opinion.

Actual Answer: 2-1

Spoiler: SC-45

Hint: The one that started it all.

Possible Cases: 1-1,3-1,3-4,I-4,I2-3

Reasoning: 1-1 is the first case in the series,but the others can be viewed as either the catalyst of the series or the chronologically first case in the series,depending on your definition.

Actual Answer: 1-1

Spoiler: SC-44

Hint: A first case which isn't the first case chronologically in its respective game.

Possible Cases: 3-1,4-1,5-1,I-1,I2-1

Reasoning: Self explanatory.

Actual Answer: I-1

Spoiler: SC-43

Hint: A first case that takes place in the past.

Possible Cases: 3-1,D-1

Reasoning: Here,3-1 takes place before the rest of the game,while D-1 literally takes place in the past. The Meiji Era,to be exact.

Actual Answer: D-1

Spoiler: SC-42

Hint: A very Japanese case.

Possible Cases: 2-2,4-2,5-2,6-4,6-5

Reasoning: All these cases feature extremely Japanese elements in it.

Actual Answer: 5-2

Spoiler: SC-41

Hint: A first case that takes place in a foreign country.

Possible Cases: 6-1,L-1

Reasoning: 6-1 takes place in Khura'in,while L-1 takes place in London.

Actual Answer: L-1

Spoiler: SC-40

Hint: A case where you control Athena.

Possible Cases: 5-3,6-4.

Reasoning: You play as Athena in both these cases.

Actual Answer: 5-3

Spoiler: SC-39

Hint: A third case with haphazard logic,but an eerie atmosphere.

Possible Cases: 2-3,4-3.

Reasoning: These are the only 3rd cases that fit both of these criteria.

Actual Answer:2-3

Spoiler: SC-38

Hint: A case with Shelly de Killer.

Possible Cases: 2-4,I2-1,I2-4,I2-5

Reasoning: He appears in all these cases.

Actual Answer:I2-1

Spoiler: SC-37

Hint: A locked room mystery...of sorts.

Possible Cases:1-3,1-4,1-5,6-2,6-3,6-4,6-5,I-2,L-3,D-3.

Reasoning: The 'of sorts' part is what you must put emphasis on. Therefore, cases like 2-2 can be eliminated.

Actual Answer:I-2

Spoiler: SC-36 and SC-35 (for this one one point since there's two cases)

Hint: A flashback case where you play as someone other than the protagonist.

Possible Cases: 3-1,3-4,4-4,I2-3.

Reasoning: SE (self-explanatory)

Actual Answer:3-1 & 3-4

Spoiler: SC-34

Hint: A case where the killer is the victim.

Possible Cases:4-4,6-3,I2-2,,I2-3,L-3,D-3,D-5.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:I2-2

Spoiler: SC-33

Hint: A case where a main character is the victim.

Possible Cases: 1-2,3-5,4-1,5-5,6-5,I2-5,L-3,D-2.

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:D-2

Spoiler: SC-32

Hint: A filler case of sorts that is mentioned in the writeup.

Possible Cases: 1-2,3-3,6-2

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:1-2

Spoiler: SC-31

Hint: [...]tommorow,we are playing with fire.

Possible Cases: L-2,L-3,L-4,I-5,D-3.

Reasoning: These all involve fire in some way.

Actual Answer:L-2

Spoiler: SC-30

Hint: A case with Detective Badd.

Possible Cases: I-4,I-5,I2-3,I2-5.

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:I-5

Spoiler: SC-29

Hint: A fourth case that isn't a final case but feels like it should be.

Possible Cases: 1-4,3-4,5-4,I2-4.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:5-4

Spoiler: SC-28

Hint:A case with Godot.

Possible Cases: 3-2,3-3,3-5.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:3-2

Spoiler: SC-27

Hint: Pearl has Psyche Locks in this case.

Possible Cases: 2-2,3-5,5-S.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:2-2

Spoiler: SC-26

Hint: A case that takes place in a foreign country.

Possible Cases: 6-1,6-3,6-5,L-3,L-4.

Reasoning: Same as 41.

Actual Answer:6-1.

Spoiler: SC-25

Hint: Maya is accused of murdering 2 gentlemen in a foreign country in this case.

Possible Cases:6-3,L-3.

Reasoning: 6-3 has Tahrust/Zeh'lot,and L-3 has Layton/Belduke. They both take place in a foreign country,and Maya is the defendant in both.

Actual Answer:6-3

Spoiler: SC-24

Hint: A third case where Maya channels Mia.

Possible Cases:1-3,3-3.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:3-3

Spoiler: SC-23

Hint: A 3DS case where Phoenix cross-examines an animal.

Possible Cases: 5-S,L-3.

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:5-S

Spoiler: SC-22

Hint: [...]tackling 2 cases(?)[...].

Possible Cases: L-4,6-5.

Reasoning: The '(?)' part is important,meaning that it's technically not 2 cases. And these are the two tat fit the bill.

Actual Answer:L-4 (part 1 & 2)

Spoiler: SC-21

Hint:A case which takes place before 3-4 and has Badd in it.

Possible Cases:I-4,I2-3.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:I-4

Spoiler: SC-20

Hint: A controversial 2nd/3rd case from a controversial game.

Possible Cases: 4-2,4-3,6-2,L-3,D-3.

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:4-3

Spoiler: SC-19

Hint: A fourth case with an abrupt ending.

Possible Cases: 4-4,I2-4.

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:I2-4

Spoiler: SC-18

Hint:A case where Mr.Hat plays a key role.

Possible Cases:4-2,4-4,6-2.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:4-2

Spoiler: SC-17

Hint:A case involving the return of the Gramaryes.

Possible Cases:4-4,6-2.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:6-2

Spoiler: SC-16

Hint:A Layton case....sort of.

Possible Cases:L-3,L-4.

Reasoning: L-3 because he's the victim,and L-4 because he's the prosecutor.

Actual Answer:L-3

Spoiler: SC-15

Hint:A final case from a game in my bottom five AA games.

Possible Cases:2-4,5-5,6-5,D-5

Reasoning: SE,if you've seen my game rankings.

Actual Answer:D-5

Spoiler: SC-14

Hint:A third case in which Edgeworth undergoes some serious character development.

Possible Cases: 1-3,I2-3.

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:1-3

Spoiler: SC-13

Hint:It's a case where 'Thena' and 'Simey' play major roles.

Possible Cases: 5-5,6-4

Reasoning: Thena refers to Athena and Simey to Blackquill.

Actual Answer:6-4

Spoiler: SC-12

Hint:A Yamazaki final case.

Possible Cases:5-5,6-5,I2-5

Reasoning:SE

Actual Answer:5-5

Spoiler: SC-11

Hint:The last remaining case of a game!

Possible Cases:2-4,3-5,6-5,L-4,D-3

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:D-3

Spoiler: SC-10

Hint: An AJ case.

Possible Cases: 4-1,4-4

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:4-1

Spoiler: SC-9

Hint: A final case...sort of.

Possible Cases: I2-3,L-4

Reasoning: I2-3 was Gregory's final case,and L-4 only has a third of it left,so it's not a full final case.

Actual Answer:L-4 (part 3)

Spoiler: SC-8

Hint: A case where Gregory plays an important role.

Possible Cases: 1-4,I2-3.

Reasoning: SE

Actual Answer:I2-3

Spoiler: SC-7

Hint:A case involvin' Apollo getting some character development.

Possible Cases: 4-4,6-5

Reasoning: 4-4 has Apollo realise that he doesn't know what law truly is,and 6-5 makes him stay with his family for a greater future.

Actual Answer:4-4

Spoiler: SC-6

Hint: A post trilogy case.

Possible Cases: 6-5,I2-5.

Reasoning: 6-5 is SE,but I2-5 does take place after the trilogy. One week before Magnifi's death,in fact.

Actual Answer:6-5

There,got your attention?

Okay,from here on out,the hints are very subtle and indirect and aren't necessarily left at the end of the writeup. They could be anywhere! So just the hints themselves are spoilers. I recommend looking long and hard for them before even seeing this. Okay,that's all. Cheerio!

Spoiler: SC-5

Hint:And now we'll have to say goodbye [...] as we travel to the distant past next time,or is it the soon to be present?

Possible Cases: 1-4,1-5

Reasoning: The important thing is the date when I published this ranking,on Boxing Day 2016. The 'soon to be present' part means that it's very close. So only 1-4 and 1-5 fit as they're within the coming months after that.

Actual Answer:1-4

Spoiler: SC-4

Hint: Maya decides to up and leave (and sadly we won't see her until tomorrow) [...]

Possible Cases: 1-5,I2-5.

Reasoning: This one is a bit tricky. You may think that since I did one a day,it has to be 2-4 or 3-5. But it's not. Here's why it can only be these two. Look at this earlier post:

I wrote:

.....actually,I don't think I'll be posting my write up tomorrow. I'll write it up by then,but I want to save it for the day after,where I'll also do the one after that.

I was to post two rankings that day. And since I said Maya wouldn't appear till the day after,it could only be these two cases (and yes,I know she technically appears in both,but it's just a minor cameo and I don't feel that counts). Props to you if you got this one.

Actual Answer:1-5

Spoiler: SC-3

Hint: Same as last one.

Possible Cases: 2-4,3-5

Reasoning: The actual 1-5 writeup doesn't include the hint;so you just have to use the previous one. Since 2-4 and 3-5 are the only cases Maya has a proper role in,they are the only possible candidates.

Actual Answer:2-4

Spoiler: SC-2

Hint: -

Possible Cases: I2-5,3-5

Reasoning: The reason there isn't a hint for this is because there are only two cases left,so there's no real point in specifying any one.

Actual Answer:I2-5

Obviously,by the time you're up to #2,you'll already have figured out what #1 is through process of elimination,so there's no hint box for that. But if you were too lazy to pay attention,the actual answer is...3-5

Spoiler: SC-1

The Layton Bonus episodes I know I said I wouldn't rank them but I lied lol baihighlight the paragraph above this tag for the real answer

Okay,I guess I'll start the detailed case rankings now. The First and Worst Tier starts from here: The Good-ish Tier These cases are the worst of the bunch,but they all still have redeeming qualities that make me still like them in the end. Their score is above six but lesser than six and a half.They mostly consist of DLC cases and first cases,though a few second,third,and even fourth cases sneak their way in here.

So let's start with the only two cases not in my top fifty (though they aren't necessarily terrible,either)...

(also,warning I'll be discussing all the series in these tags including those recently released here or Japan only so beware,unless you've played or seen them all):

Even though these two cases are at the bottom of my rankings,that doesn't mean they're bad. That just means they aren't as near as good as the others. They certainly are fun,if not a bit too ridiculous. They do have a couple of standout moments,like the ending of the PW one,and I was laughing throughout the AJ one at just how low stakes it was.

They just don't really offer much to the table,in terms of mystery,character development,and gameplay,and the number of standout moments are kinda little. But they are nice and short,giving them great repayable value,unlike others we'll be seeing. The stories weren't exactly that out there,though I do consider them as non canon. The Apollo one does have great settings,and the Phoenix one has a great joke. That is,the twist that your bluff worked too well. The twist in the AJ one where Rayfa's dreamland doesn't exist is also great.

I just...don't have much to say about these. But they were still fun,at the very least.

I give the AJ one a 6.05/10 and the PW one a 6.1/10. I like PW's more due to the great punchline at the end,while the AJ one only kinda had a cheesy moral.

Here's a hint for the next one,something that actually was neck and neck with the PW one for a while,and something that I actually partially dislike...yeah....that isn't very good... But I'll tell you. It's a filler third case in a Yamazaki game.

The story here is kinda meh. It escalates as it goes on,but the plot is completely predictable. I for one,saw the twist about Lauren and Colin and the fact that Lance orchestrated the kidnapping from a mile away. And I don't even really understand why Lance even did it. We know from what we see of his dad that he'd readily supply a million bucks to his kid,no prob. And as his son,shouldn't Lance know how generous he was?

The characters introduced here are meh. Lauren is like a fifties housewife,down to her design and animations. Lance is a generic spoilt brat whose breakdown is him crying and saying sorry. Not exactly memorable. And Ernest is cool,but we barely see him in his evil mode.

The introduction of Kay and Lang are meh. They're both great in the fourth and fifth case respectively.but they left no impression on me here. Lang doesn't even really act the same in this case either. The Lang in the fifth case wouldn't arrest someone right after a quick cursory glance at the crime scene,that's for sure.

The cameos are....meh. I want to like them more,but they come across to me as forced and their roles aren't used to their fullest extent. Ema,Oldbag,and Meekins's roles are all contrived and short (i.e. Ema does some forensic stuff,Oldbag mistakes someone in a costume for another person,Meekins screws everything up), and I feel like anyone could fulfil their roles.

The Badgers are cute and all,and I like the idea of them in an amusement park,but why does the Gatewater Hotel own it? Viola's role is cool at first glance,but then I ask,"Why does Lance even need to take loans,anyway?" And then it falls down. And the police chief and the PW crew are completely optional,so they're pointless. The only decent one is Portsman and Faith,but by then they're only there for a few minutes,tops.

But this case does have its positives,though. The mystery,for one,is very captivating,getting creepier as time goes on (though there are a few holes and the twists don't really hit hard).The intro is very spooky,and the music and gameplay are solid through and through. The part at the end where you expose the Haunted House's workings is very neat as well.

So overall,thanks to its great mystery and gameplay,The Kidnapped Turnabout is just barely saved from being a boring case with terrible characters,cameos,and bad major twists,and is only slightly better than the Asinine Attorney cases. So I'd say it's appropriate to give it a 6.105/10.

Hint for the next one:It's a first case with huge relevance to the overall plot of its respective game.

This is going to be long, I think. I'm taking into account only GS1, GS2, GS3 and GS4 - games I played at least twice. I've played GS5 and GS6 once, so my opinions about those games aren't very solid yet - but I can say for sure that I think GS3 and GS5 are the worst titles of the series.

To me, the Ace Attorney series in general is pretty much characterized by having some strong, impactful cases mixed up with "filler cases". For example, in GS1, the first case is introductory filler; the second is meaningful when it comes to its significance regarding the entire plot. The third is an annoying filler, and the last case is actually very good, and important to the series.

GS2 and GS4 are the strongest games of the series, in my opinion. They are far from being flawless, but I think they still have the strongest cases.

1. GS2 has both 2-2 and 2-4. I think 2-4 is by far the best case of the original trilogy; it is the only case that actually puts strong moral convictions into question and makes you reflect before making a difficult decision. This is a game about lawyers, and it always bothered me how AA games in general present the defendants as cueless victims, the prosecutors as tyrants and witnesses as liars. We all know it doesn't work like this in real life. In fact, we all know that a lot of defendants are actually guilty IRL, and some lawyers still work to protect the rights of the worst criminals you can think of. So 2-4 is the only case where you actually have to defend a scumbag; it is also a case full of emotional complexity (I think Adrian, for example, is a better secondary character than the average secondary character in AA games), and a moment where Phoenix has to wonder about what is the meaning of being a lawyer. The fact that Maya was kidnapped (the first time she was kidnapped) created an atmosphere of suspense surrounding the episode, and its investigation was very thrilling, too. I loved exploring the hotel, and Engarde's mansion. Sure, the cross-examination started to become repetitive in the end, but even this annoyance doesn't ruin the case for me.

2. GS2 has 2-2 which I also see as a very strong case compared to other ones in the series, and it deals with key characters/elements that would be used again in the main plot (in short, it is a case of crucial importance to the series); 2-3 is not that good, but it is an acceptable filler. 2-1 is dumb and incredibly weak, I can agree with that.

3. GS2 started to show sparks of development in Edgeworth and deals with his relationship with Phoenix; it also introduces Franziska, which is one of my favourite prosecutors.

4. About GS4: I like this game a lot, and I would put it as second favourite because its "filler cases", in contrast to the fillers in the main original trilogy, are actually strong. I quite like 4-2, for example; I think Tiala is a better villain than many others, not in terms of intelligence, but in terms of having believable traits and being similar to people we observe IRL. GS4 starts with a strong case, or at least a case that is more complex compared to other introductory cases. 4-3 and 4-4 are both good; not "excellent", but the game doesn't have a case that particularly annoys me (like GS1 with 1-3).

5. I think GS3 is the worst game of the series, maybe only competing with GS5. I could list several reasons here, but I will start with the main one: the secondary characters suck. Atmey is a terrible villain, unrelatable and one-dimensional; Tigre, again, just an exaggerated stereotype, a simplistic character. Armstrong is obnoxious and unlikeable, and I'm kind of neutral towards the DeLite couple (they are not "bad", but not particularly complex, either). The only secondary character in GS3 I like is Viola. Now compare those one-dimensional stereotypes called "characters" from GS3 to characters from GS1 and GS2. Heck, von Karma is way more complex than any character from GS3, Adrian too. Even DeVasquez is a better character than Furio Tigre, Jean Armstrong and Luke Atmey. She is way more realistic and less of an obnoxious stereotype.

6. The second reason why I dislike GS3: it repeats something that already happened in the past (Maya being put in danger, Maya being the defendant). When Maya was kidnapped for the first time in 2-4, it was okay. When she was the defendant for the first time it was okay, too. But all the attention surrounding her in GS3 made the game boring and repetitive; I don't think 3-5 is strong at all. Godot is a character that COULD be good, but his development was poorly executed. Dahlia is a villain with a forced background (a background that should be complex, in my opinion) that isn't very well explained or explored. Iris is some kind of Mary Sue, or not a particularly deep character. In short, nothing about this case excited me. Maya in danger bored me. Godot's drama and bad-executed development bored me. Dahlia forced "bitchness" bored me.

When it comes to major characters, Edgeworth and Franziska. The "von Karma" siblings always make things exciting for me. I like how they are not perfect and not 100% pure like some characters are (let's say, Maya and Mia). I still think Klavier is one of the best prosecutors (he deserved more attention and development IMO) and Apollo is also growing on me.

When it comes to secondary characters, I quite like Wocky Kitaki and Alita Tiala. I like Viola and Adrian too.

Characters that particularly annoy me: Maya, Larry, Luke Atmey, Jean Armstrong and Mike Meekins.One thing that ruins AA sometimes for me is the excessive "goofiness". It is not that I am a person without sense of humor; but characters like Maya and Larry are rarely, very rarely serious, and this gets on my nerves sometimes. They are always "goofy". Things they say don't come across as funny to me, at least not most of the times. It is just... silly. Repetitive. Boring.

@Thelema Thanks for your post! Very insightful into the preferences of a not very common GS fan. I'll,of course,give my thoughts on what you said in due time. But first...

It's time for #49! And it's...

*drumroll*

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Spoiler: All the games

#49-Turnabout Countdown

Yes,the first tutorial case falls down,and it's from Dual Destinies! So let's get into it. This should be a....bomb! ...no? Anyway,then,er...let's go!

This case is probably the only first case to make me not want to play the rest of the game,period,besides 1-1 (I'll get to that later). Why? Simple. Just the overall anime-ness of it all. Sure,AA has always been rather,er...Japanese,but I feel that this case is too cartoony,even for AA. And the cutscenes....god...let's just say I instinctively flinch whenever one of them starts. So basically,the presentation in this case is awful.

The mystery here is good for a first case,but not great,unlike 4-1. Mainly due to the fact that they show the killer in the opening cutscene,which I feel is really unnecessary nowadays. Trump,Target,and Memories did it fine without me instantly figuring out the killer's identity (okay,maybe not Memories,but still); so why should this game still do it?

But other than that,I like it. It gets complex as the case goes on:first the bomb,then the murder,then the Apollo assault. So many individual crimes are being analysed here,that it starts really tricking you. I like the fact that the victim wrote the identity of the killer in their blood for once,and the fact that the trial actually gets delayed midway through. The whole 'WOODS' thing is genuinely one of the harder parts of the game (sadly), and the ending with the fake out bomb was very intense.

The gameplay is mediocre. I feel that DD tends to drag things on way to long before we actually get to do something,and this case certainly shows it. I mean,about half an hour in and you're still not at the first cross examination?! Really? The cross examinations and mood matrix are kinda easy,too. And there's too much time spent between the initial testimony and your cross examination. And don't even get me started on the difficulty level!

The characters are kinda forgettable. Woods only really made an impression on me in case three,and Ted...well,he's too cartoony to be that likeable. At least his breakdown was good.

Gaspen is just a ruder Winston,and his only really memorable moments were before the first testimony,where he insults Athena and Woods. That's not a compliment. Athena definitely didn't make a good impression on me here,either. Her highlights don't include this case for certain. Phoenix and Apollo are the only characters I kinda like,and that's mainly due to the mystery surrounding them initially (which,it turns out,leads to nothing).

So,overall,I'd say 5-1 is a mediocre case,with a goodish mystery,okay characters and gameplay,but is made worse by it's absolutely abhorrent presentation which nearly turned me off the whole game. So I'd say a 6.125/10 should be okay. If you're wondering,the reason it's better than I-3 is due to the non-presentation part being better than the presentation part here,but vice versa in I-3. And while I like presentation,I'd say the story,mystery,characters,and gameplay are more important on the whole. So,there.

Before we start today,I'd like to remind everyone that in these tags will be references to all the games in the series. Including SoJ,DGS and GK2. So be careful before you take a peek! But anyway...

Alright,next up....number 48, your turn to go up on stage,my friend! Don't worry,it'll be okay!...Yeah,I'll even get you dinner for tonight! Okay? Good. And here he comes,folks! The next case on my list is....

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Spoiler: All the games

#48-Turnabout Time Traveller

Ah yes,the final SoJ DLC,and what better way to finish it off than with an actual case,Turnabout Time Traveller! Now this case certainly is interesting. It had just about the right ingredients for success,but it didn't impress me in the end. Why? Let's find out!

Now the case certainly has a unique premise. Larry suddenly bursting into the office;him claiming to be married; the whole time travel thing; and of course, the whole OG trilogy gang reuniting once again. But I feel that it fails to deliver properly on each of these elements.

First of all,the characters. And I don't just mean the OCs,I mean all the returning characters. Ellen is quite similar to Lauren Paups in how she's willing to sacrifice herself for her lover,but at least I can say that Lauren didn't waste my time with her minute long animations! While I do appreciate the work gone into the animations,it's clear they had a bit too much fun designing hers. And it really gets annoying later in the case. Don't even bother presenting evidence to her.

Sorin is basically Hugh with a mechanic outfit in terms of design. He's interesting with his time traveller metaphors,but only really starts to show it in the second trial day. Otherwise,he's just taking two minutes to tear a paper,write a message on it,then throw it at you in the form of a plane.

Pierce is my favourite character in this case (yes,I'm counting the returning characters as well). He's great as a butler,being prim and polite,but having a rather creepy air. As a surgeon,he's also great,being absolutely blunt and having none of what anybody says. His outfit both suits him as a butler and a surgeon,and his animations never drag on too long. His time traveller metaphors are great,and despite what others say,I still find him a great grey area character.

Now the returning characters. Athena and Trucy just reoccur throughout the case to shove in the fact that they had a reason to not be in the case. Phoenix...he really got on my nerves during the last trial day with his overreacting to everything. I didn't mind it in DD and in the main game of SoJ,but here it irked me. Apollo got a passing mention or two,but to me it doesn't sound like he's in another country,it sounds like he's taken a sick leave for the week. It doesn't mesh up.

Maya and Edgeworth both act incredibly out of character on several occasions. For example,are you really telling me that the future master of Kurain village would really throw herself at a running car? And the scene with her getting blood on Sorin's journal is stupid. It would've been more natural for the maids to have dropped it while taking it to Sorin.

Edgeworth first tells us that no one was brave enough to take on the case,as if Klavier, Blackquill, Franziska and Nahyuta don't exist. Then he spends the whole trial rushing the judge to give his verdict and insulting Wright all day. And you're telling me that you care for the truth? That's a pile of cowdung cakes (aka,it's only any good when burnt. Otherwise,it smells).

And then there's the big Butz in the room,Larry. To be honest,guys...I'm actually really disappointed that Larry barely had a role in this case. No,his role in the case is alright,but in the trial,he only gets two testimonies,both with easy contradictions. And then we barely see him afterwards. It's a pity,because I like his new design as well as his new 'Laurice Deauxnim' look. But they never come into play,besides getting him to draw another stupid drawing again.

So the OCs range from annoying to hilarious,and the main characters range from forced to blatantly out of character. A heavily mixed,but mostly negative bag. The most believable fanservice in this whole case is Ema sticking it out for Edgeworth,and that's sad.

But enough about the characters. Let's talk about the mystery,story and gameplay! They're....also mixed.

I feel that most of the evidence in this case is used for one thing,and that's it. Larry's card thing,the sign,the ice machine...they're all one and done,I feel. A pity,because I could see them working great in a better mystery. The workings and the motivation part of the mystery are far too simplistic ,even for DLC. I figured out everything waaaay before it was revealed,and none of the big twists had an effect on me.

The testimonies are also to blame for this. They're all so short and simple with an obvious contradiction sticking out half of the time. The only truly clever one was the last one,and even then in the end it was rather simple. The Thought Route this time was stupidly simple. The big things were 'He hit him with the murder weapon','The murder weapon was the Time Keeper',and 'The Time Keeper was Activated'. Two of these are basic facts,and the last one was something the police should've found out about. So both the mystery and gameplay were too simplistic for their own good.

And the story,which is mediocre. All the twists except Sorin's condition I saw coming from a mile away,and they're all based upon previous twists in the story (the whole reception being faked to fool Ellen was similar to how Kudo was fooled in 3-3,for example). And there's also not much to it. We don't really get to know the main players in the story that well. Sorin, Gloomsbury, Selena....never really get to know them that well,do we?

So let's go back to my original statement about this case having a lot of promise but failing to deliver on its opening. Why did I say that? BECAUSE NONE OF IT WORKS. The mystery, gameplay, characters, story....they were all rather unimpressive,and once again,too overly simplistic.

But what do I like about this case? Well,the presentation is stellar,and unlike DD,I never really found myself bored at any point. The villain was great,and I really like the ending. The steampunk design was also a very good touch,and the cutscenes weren't wince worthy this time around. The time traveller metaphors were cheesy,but they still sent a chill down my spine. Lastly, I love how brutal everyone is towards Edgeworth in this case.

So I'd say that's worth about a 6.2/10. That's about it. See you next time!

Alright,sorry for the wait....number 47, it's your time! Warning to the weak,this one especially contains spoilers from a game not released outside of Japan yet,so be careful!

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Spoiler: All the games

#47-Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro

Ah yes,the first DGS case falls,and of course it's the fourth case. I remember writing long ago that the reason this case falls even below its first case is because it's a standard AA case in a game full of not so standard cases. Do I still agree with that statement? Well...not necessarily,but I still do. You'll see now.

So this case is coming right from the incredible case 3, where you're unsure whether you got the right verdict. It opens with some incredible news from Vortex- Megundal is dead! What?! ...And then it proceeds to ignore that for the rest of the case,where we just focus on some random murder,except this time it isn't even murder!

Yeah,I would've preferred it this and case three were swapped. It would've been rather nice to get introduced to Iris and Gregson first,and have Sherlock tell you about Baroque before the trial. The only hole I see is why Baroque would even take the case,but I'd say it would make sense for him to think of Ryu as a Japanese,and to test his will. But that's subjective.

Even then,I'd like this case more if the actual mysteries,characters,and gameplay were jolly good and fun. But...they weren't that much. The mystery is slipshod and shoddy,not to mentioned convoluted. The pipe thing at the end was utter luck,to the level of 2-3's bust cape thing and 3-5's pendulum. The accidental stuff was way better in case two,because I actually find the villain sympathethic.

Yeah,Joan is a terrible person. This whole thing is because she got mad at her husband with a love letter with a completely different name on it,and then throws a knife out the window,ATTEMPTING TO KILL HIM IN THE PROCESS. And then continues to abuse him throughout the case. Yeesh,and I don't even really like the henpecked husband trope to begin with. Rola is like that too,except her eyes are really weird. Also she actually doesn't act like that to her husband,except maybe pulling his scarf.

Yeah,I actually liked the O'Malleys. They were fun to cross examine (especially since how only Rola says anything in the whole first testimony), and their love to each other was rather nice. Pat also comes across as way more sympathethic than Joan. The guy just reached his breaking point,and had enough.

Natsume is just a caricature throughout the whole case and I don't particularly care for him. Gregson is nowhere as great as Hosonoga,and Iris was just there for the opening. Also what's up with those two guys you see arguing with each other for a split second halfway through the investigation? Never got an answer on who they were. John I do like,particularly for putting up with Joan for so long,and his design is neat.Why did he make all that fuss about getting slapped though? I mean Joan does it in the trial,and then it just vanishes instantly. Rather pointless,I felt.

The gameplay is terrible. You only get two pieces of evidence in the investigation,and the trial sections...let's just say I caught on to the cheap pacing tricks they did rather fast. If you didn't know,this is how it goes. Testimony-> Closing Argument-> Testimony-> Closing Argument-> Testimony-> 6 million years spent on dumb arguing-> One rather stupid testimony by the Garridebs. It's very dumb,and the testimonies were also easily structured. I mean,I almost felt that this was DD for a second.

The highlight of this case was definitely the Joint Reasoning. This is how it goes: 'Because you looked at a lion statue,you actually owned one. And the lion ate the carpet,so you had to sell it.' Absolutely hilarious.

So overall,this case was rather forgettable. Unlike the others,it did both mystery,characters and gameplay in a subpar way,but never really got on my nerves in anyway. The writing between the characters was all fine as well,besides the obnoxious gimmicks by Joan and Natsume. So...6.25/10 seems to fit the situation rather well. See you next time,everybody!

It's time. Hammer Time! But really,the case which is number 46's time is here. Let's go!

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Spoiler: All the games

#46-The Lost Turnabout

Well,well,well. It took long enough,but finally,a trilogy case has fallen down from the sky,like a shooting star! And I guess that this case is a fitting start to it. It's an alright tutorial case by its own,but what I dislike about the case is not that,nor its stupid amnesia subplot,nor the fact that it portrays Phoenix as an idiot. What is it? Let's see!

For a tutorial case,the opening is a real shocker. I mean,with that tune and that landscape,who wouldn't be surprised? And while they show the killer,they're not actually shown committing the crime. However,it goes downhill from there. The stupid amnesia thing still grinds my gears. It's a stupid way to justify giving an explanation of how the game works. I don't mind though,because they actually introduce something new here-presenting profiles!

And this leads to a very clever first contradiction. That is,presenting Maggie Maggey's profile. It's a good way to show veterans that there is something new to this after all. However,that's very all I have to say about the gameplay ends. Every other testimony is rather simple,but it should be,I feel.

The characters are alright. Wellington is insufferable,but that just makes it all the more satisfying to finally expose him. And that breakdown....ooooooooh. Byrde never really got on my nerves here,unlike in 3-3, and the old characters are all good. Even Phoenix,who acts like a moron in the first part,really shines in the last. Payne even got his confidence pose in this case,something I think most don't really know.

But it's not the characters,gameplay,or presentation that really frustrate me. No. It's the stupid mystery. Being that it's JfA,every case either has to have a plot hole or broken design (i.e,not being allowed to present stuff which is contradictory). It doesn't really have the latter,but it has sure does have a whooole lot of the former. Let me elaborate.

First of all,why did Wellington even bother to testify? They had nothing on him. NOTHING. He could've just fled the scene and bought new glasses,but nooooo. He had to spent a ton of time trying to get his special spectacles. Secondly,where was Byrde during the crime? She should've recognised Wellington as soon as he came to the stand. It never is explained,either.

Thirdly,why would the police think that the victim spelt his girlfriend's name wrong? Heck,why didn't they immediately find out how to spell it? Finally,WHY WOULD THEY EVEN THINK THAT THE VICTIM COULD EVEN WRITE ANYTHING,LET ALONE HIS GIRLFRIEND'S NAME,WHEN HE DIED INSTANTLY?!

I'm sorry,but these flaws are never addressed,and that really makes me peeved. I'm glad to have gotten that off my chest though.

Hmm,I think that's it! This case was alright- okay in gameplay,characters,and presentation,,but abhorrent in the mystery department;full of flaws I could not find it in me to ignore. But other than its glaring flaw,it's okay. An average case,at best. Also,I do like the thematical connection here. One,the intro. That gets used in 2-4, as if to convey how far you've reached. It's a nice touch.

Secondly,Wellington sorta fits into the whole grey area culprit thing. Sure,he's an arragont prick of a conman,but the only reason he turned to murder is due to his sheer paranoia of being caught. Yeah,that and only that. It basically goes with the whole theme of 'killers who wouldn't normally resort to killing' thing.

So a 6.275/10 is good in this scenario. And that,is all.

A hint for the unenlightened:Next time will be the one which started it all.

What's the square root of 2025? 45! Welcome back,everybody! It's time for number 45 to take the stage. And it's....

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Spoiler: All the games

#45- The First Turnabout

And something some of you might have not been expecting,1-1 itself! While I do like it fine,the reason it's lower than you might've expected is due to this nearly stopping me from playing AA. Let me explain.

Until Sahwit takes the stand,I really did not want to continue playing. In fact,I took a break right before the first courtroom scene. Why? Well,the same reason as I did for 5-1. It's too animeish at first. The cutscene,the characters,and the general script really got on my nerves. I first saw Mia as the police chief who was going to be the love interest (boy was I wrong on that one), and Larry was the generic annoying best friend (boy was I right on that one). And the stupid Butz pun,too...I feel that all these things pushed my but(z)tons the wrong way. The only non Japanese looking character was the Judge.

The mystery here is so-so. The real mystery is the motive,and that's revealed after the breakdown. Everything else is simple,but it's alright for a tutorial case. I like the whole it wasn't 9 hours fast,but 15 hours slow thing or whatever,I guess. There's no logic holes here at least.

The idea of presenting after the court part is over is also a neat little idea,if only to wrap up all loose ends.

Er...yeah! That's it! Sorry for the short one today,it's just that this is a very simple case in general. Everything after Sahwit testifies is fantastic,but everything beforehand is really misleading. So for nearly turning me off the series,but converting me back,a 6.3/10 should do. See you soon!

Hint for the next one: A first case that actually isn't the first chronological case in its respective game.

4...4.....44! Number 44, will you come to pick up your order? Oh,what's this? Number 44 is...? Very well then,raise the curtains,boys!

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Spoiler: All the games

#44-Turnabout Visitor

Sheesh,three first cases in a row? Well,er,anyway,Turnabout Visitor is here because it's a rather short and simple case that managed to teach the basics of the AAI series nice and well...but that's really all I have to say about it. It'll be another short one for today. Sorry everybody!

So,the case starts with...what,again?! They show you the killer in the opening cutscene....again?! Sigh....but I guess I already had that rant,so better move on. It starts intriguingly, with Edgeworth discovering a murder in his office. Then someone holds him at gunpoint. The identity of the mystery man is a great twist,but we'll save that for later.

Then the case actually starts to get going. The setting...It's a very fanservicey location,but without being overly extravagant,like some other cases. The mystery here is also simple,but unlike 2-1, without any big plot holes. The twist that the thief and the murderer are different people is neat for a first case,I guess. Otherwise,it's alright. The gameplay is a very nice,soothing introduction to the Investigations play style. It works very well,and the new features are simple enough but also fun. The presentation also helps with that.

The characters are good. Edgeworth,Gumshoe,and Maggey all are in character,with some funny moments as well. Portsman is a good first villain. His coat flipping is odd,though. I like how he drives Edgeworth out of his office to mess with the crime scene. His breakdown was also somewhat amusing,I suppose. Though I do wonder why he didn't dispose of the bloody tape elsewhere? He would've gotten away with it too. The random Payne cameo is also very funny,and continues the trend of the forgettable Paynes.

Other than that...um,yeah! That's all! Once again,I apologise for the short writeup today. There's just not too much to say about this. Unlike the previous two,this case didn't really have any plot holes or was terrible at any point. On the other hand,there's not much to it besides that. A 6.375 should suffice in this case. That's all. Good day!

[This screenshot is from the fan translation of DGS,currently in progress. Check it out here!]

And yet another DGS case falls. Oh,DGS,I love you,but you've certainly got your own share of flaws,sadly. This one is interesting,because as I am typing this,we still do not know the full story behind the case. Yes,the motive. So if DGS2 addresses this point in the future,I'll talk about it in that respective case,not here.

So with that out of the way,let's talk about this case!

It starts off with a nice anime cutscene,and then we find ourselves in the lobby! This time,the killer is not shown,though in this case,it's rather obvious who it is beforehand. Thanks for the convenient flashback,game.

The mystery here besides that part,is quite good.....up until the very end,where they waste an hour on the stupid steak plate. I knew immediately at first glance that they switched the plates. I only feel it was sorta there to give relevance to that chat about the old coin,and to the other two witnesses. I do love how the mystery develops until then,though! The way that the poison wasn't detected due to it not 'existing' was especially clever!

The presentation is gorgeous. It's like PLvsAA,with a more AA style to it this time (excluding a few Laytonesque characters). The one qualm I have is that when observing the witnesses,their faces don't show up on the bottom screen. Also that not everyone has a unique voice. But that can be forgiven due to the lower budget on this one.

The gameplay is good. Despite there being only four testimonies,the game manages it especially well (unlike the fourth case) by making each piece of evidence count. How? You HAVE to examine the evidence before presenting it. It's a good way to ensure that the player isn't just going to win through trial and error. This is used even better in the third case,but we'll get to that later.

The characters are good enough. The judge and prosecutor are just placeholders for Udgey and Payne (albeit with new animations; and I liked how the judge wasn't a total pushover this time),and Asougi was just a cooler Mia (except to make him more relatable,he actually starts to crack at the end). Yuujin is cool and mysterious,and Susato is fine here. Ryuunosuke is very cool. He's like Feenie,but more competent. He even undergoes a mini arc here,where he slowly starts to gain confidence and competence. This is symbolised well by the animations,the music,and even him finally shouting,'Objection!' at the last part.

Uzukuru and Saimon are your generic first witnesses,but the former actually becomes better afterwards. The baby was absolutely adorable. Let's just say that. Jezail is a weaker Dahlia,and I don't even like Dahlia that much! I loved how pompous she was throughout,however,and her 'Shut Up!' is giggle inducing. She just doesn't give a darn. Her just drinking the poisonous bottle,breaking evidence....she even gets away with her crime in the end (to be possibly resolved in DGS2?).

Hosonoga though....my man! His design is very cool. His tuberculosis is sad,but for some reason used for comedy,like Hutch's attempted suicides and Joan's abusiveness. He's the best though! The fact that he coerced the two witnesses to be quiet at first seems very creepy,but then he turns out to be very cool! He's genuinely sorry at the end as well,which I always like. I am surprised at how he just let Brett break the evidence though.

So that was the Great Departure! Great indeed! It had a good mystery,good characters,gorgeous presentation....but it fell a bit short at the end where we spend an hour proving that the plates were switched. And you thought 6-1 was long....ha..!Regardless of that,it's still a fun introduction to DGS as a whole. Now it's time to deliver my verdict:6.4/10. See you tomorrow!

Oh, I had been avoiding your reviews because you said they'd contain spoilers for unreleased games (in the West)... But now that I know you're actually marking those reviews, I suppose all the ones without this marking are safe, right?

Yeah,47 and 43 are Japan only cases.The other tags,I'll be discussing DLC cases,the six main games,the two investigation games,and the Layton crossover. I think I made a reference to DGS in one of these,but I couldn't find it,so I think you should be good for the others.

What is the meaning of life,you may ask? Not this case. Number 42, come up to the stand. It's time for you to testify!(side note wow I am impressed that I've already done ten of these thanks everybody for the support)

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Spoiler: All the games

#42-The Monstrous Turnabout

Ah,another DD case falls,and it's this one! I didn't initially have the best impression of it,but upon replaying it,it's not that bad! Well at least not as bad as I felt it was initially. So let's talk about it!

The mystery- wait,what? They....show the killer in the intro this time? Really? The only other time they did this was in 1-2. And the anime cutscenes still are terrible,so I had a rather negative impression of this case going in.

So with the killer shown,the mystery is rather lacklustre. They keep shoving in things that happened the day of the murder so much that it felt forced. Damian ate the key? Filch just screwed around? Why didn't L'Belle just open the chamber and try to take the gold right after killing the alderman? It's confusing and nonsensical. The best part about it was Jinxie sleepwalking,and that I don't even think came to a proper conclusion. The twist with the Nine Tails' identity was also good though.

The gameplay is terrible. The investigations are terribly paced,and they're honestly the worst part of the series to me. Nothing eventful occurs,so you just move automatically,the game force feeds you everything. SoJ also kinda had this problem but at least the investigations were fun. Here,the banter with the characters is boring,and that's a big problem to me. It reaches levels of I-3 bad. The trial sections,I believe,I discussed my problems with in my 5-1 writeup. Suffice it to say there's a scarce amount of actual gameplay in there,with easy testimonies and choices. The amount of bluffing done here is way too self aware (end justifies the means anybody?), and it's not very funny.

The characters are alright. L'Belle is just downright terrible in his obviousness. Him,Jinxie,and Fulbright all annoy me with their terrible gimmicks. Athena and Apollo don't really have that many moments from what I can remember,other than the 'I'm gonna kill this guy' convo. The Wrights are barely there. Filch is fun with his stealing gimmick. He's sorta the Larry of this case,screwing everything up with his fooling around. Damian is a surprisingly good character. If he wasn't the defendant,then I think he could've been a good red herring. His adoration for Jinxie is also nice.Blackquill is a cool opponent,but I wish his handcuff breaking had been saved for later.

So what do I like about this case more after replaying it? The humour (at least in the trials). I didn't pay much attention to it originally,but when I replayed,I pressed everything. This leads to some very funny lines that definitely save the case for me. The just make the whole case worth it for me. They're hilarious,even.

So,with all that in mind,I believe it to be the most appropriate score,yes,indeed. 6.4025/10! Goodbye for now!

Hint for the next one:A first case that takes place in a foreign country (both in the localisation and original).

My memory is always bad, so I don't remember specific details about cases, only big things and the general feeling I had during the case. I agree everything (except for the final twist) was way too obvious, but I really liked the characters and the setting. There's something about Jinxie I just like, but I don't know what, and I liked hating L'Belle. I'd personally rate it higher because dat final twist...

My memory is always bad, so I don't remember specific details about cases, only big things and the general feeling I had during the case. I agree everything (except for the final twist) was way too obvious, but I really liked the characters and the setting. There's something about Jinxie I just like, but I don't know what, and I liked hating L'Belle. I'd personally rate it higher because dat final twist...

Spoiler: 42

I'm not the biggest fan of the setting myself,but I can see how others could enjoy it. I dunno,something about DD's backgrounds really irk me. I like Jinxie's sleepwalking subplot,and her smiling at the end,but the charm thing got old fast. Looking back,I did like the whole twist about L'Belle's hair being white,but I found him terrible as a villain IMO,not even in the like to hate sense.That final twist along with the humour in the trials is what brought it up this high in the first place. The investigations I felt were the low point of this case,maybe in all games.

And the first case from the crossover falls! Of course,it's only the tutorial case,so it is to be expected. This one I quite like,but not due to the usual fare. Why then? Read on to find out!

(Side Note: I'll only be talking about the trial parts from the crossover,as they're the only AA bits in PLvsAA. That is,this case,the Fire Witch,Golden Court,the Final Witch Trial,the Last Inquisitor,and the First Story. The Special Episodes shall not be covered as there is no AA gameplay there,unlike Asinine Attorney.)

This case continues from the Layton part,where Espella falls into a ship and gets herself in trouble once again. Then we cut to court,where Phoenix and Maya are waiting in the lobby,and- wait,that music sounds familiar...

Yep,they remade the AA1 trial music just for this one case. It's quite a trip down nostalgia lane,and I daresay it fits quite nicely with the atmosphere of this case. I recommend playing this on a nice afternoon in an air conditioned room myself,to give the feel of the English Courtroom. It also fits nicely,as for once,this isn't a murder case,and no jury is required in England for that.

The mystery is so-so. It's sorta like 2-1 how some seemingly unrelated evidence is handed to you in the lobby,but suddenly it's the whole motive for the case. The fingerprint contradiction is neat,and I like how they make the characters hold the pipes to show it. Once again,excellent presentation. I like how Johnny is this massive red herring,like Orly,but then turns out to be a narcissist who screwed everything up.

I also like how in a sense,the victim is the culprit this time (though we never did find out who it was,but I think we can assume it was Darklaw or one of her Shades). The PC Badger is cute fanservice that doesn't really distract from the case (unlike I-3). The only big plot hole I see here is how the book at the end sucked Phoenix and Maya into Labyrinthia. But that's more the fault of the ending than anything.

The characters are very fun. The judge and prosecutor are once again just basically Udgey and Payne fill-ins,but they do so well. Phoenix acts kinda dumb if you ask about cross examinations, and Maya bonking him with the pipe is also not very in character,but other than that,they're fine.

Espella and Darklaw are just there for the most part,and don't really get interesting until later on. Johnny,like I said earlier,is a great red herring,and is quite the enjoyable witness. Olivia is also about equally fun,with a great breakdown. These two are the most AA-like characters in the game.

And that's all. If you would ask me,the English Turnabout is a great first case,with an alright mystery,fun characters,but is pushed up because of the great presentation. The pacing is also good for a first case,and it never drags on,unlike a certain other first case. So it gets a 6.4125/10.

But wait,that's not all! Now we're reaching the good stuff. That's right,the Good-ish Tier is almost over,and we're nearing the top forty. So let's take a look at what's left!I plan to do this every ten cases or so,and also for the top five and three.

I love PLvsPW a lot, so I'm probably biased here. I still remember the announcement and me freaking out over something I thought was only possible in a dream.Anyway, I agree with all that you said here, including the mysteries and the characters, but especially the bit with Maya hitting Phoenix. Like, what the heck. Maya literally does what their defendant is on trial for. And it doesn't even make people so much as blink.Also, this case (or rather the whole game) had such good voice acting and they used this voice acting in really good key moments. Something I wish the mainline Ace Attorney games did better.

Corn, I thought the exact same thing as you about 1-1. Not even going to use the spoiler tag, because it is the first case from the first game, so c'mon... But I thought Mia would be Phoenix's love interest, too. lolAnd Larry annoyed the hell out of me. He always annoys the hell out of me. He is just there because someone needs to be "obnoxiously funny"... and he isn't even funny, most of the times.

About 1-2:

Spoiler:

One of the most important cases in the whole series. Edgeworth is introduced, Maya is introduced, Gumshoe is introduced, Mia dies... the whole "Fey thing" that would be the central focus of the plot in the future is briefly explained... actually, you don't get to "feel" how important is this case until you play the whole original trilogy and then replay it. The case ends with a situation that will repeat itself over and over again in the future: Mia saves Phoenix's ass, gives him the final piece of evidence/explain to him the right line of reasoning... what an excuse of attorney Phoenix is, lol. He would be nothing without Mia.

Redd is a very simplistic villain, but far from being the worst of the series...

Last edited by Thelema on Mon Nov 21, 2016 4:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sheesh,we're halfway through DD already? But I digress. This case,when it originally came out,was considered to have finally broken the syndrome of third cases being bad. Even though I disagree that third cases are bad (except maybe possibly I-3, but I've beaten that horse dead already), I don't think that this case was as good as everyone says. But is it bad? Well,no,obviously. I've stated before that no cases in this series are bad (even I-3 is barely saved from that), and I still stand by it. But let's go into more detail!

Okay,despite the opening showing three people near a body,I knew that the killer was Means from the start. Creepy smile,weird design,one note personality,clearly a philosophy that the game wants you to take as a bad thing...yep,he did it.

The mystery of the killer was nonexistent,and yet despite that,they keep trying to shove the blame onto the students. I forgot to mention this in my 5-2 review,but for some reason,they only reveal the motive after the breakdown. That's dumb. Motive should usually be one of the main parts that comes up during court,and it's always exciting to solve that. But here,even the actual motive is boring. They did it because they're evil greedy people? Lame,AND one dimensional.

Besides that,the mystery's alright. I do like the fact that the twist is that the crime was SIMPLER than we initially thought (i.e,the fact that the victim wasn't actually moved). But I'm a bit irked that we solved some stuff outside court,which means no penalties (specifically,the fact that the crime didn't take place at night).

The characters are the saving grace of this case,really. I love all their gimmicks,from Hugh's narcissism to Robin's er,manliness,to Myriam's,er...actually,upon replaying,I didn't find Myriam to be very exciting. Her part in trial was boring until she shows her face. Her wanting to be part of Juniper's friends was cute,though. Athena is very fun to play as,and Apollo is as snarky as ever. But,while Wright does play a part,it's forgotten afterwards. Means,like I said,is just the obvious killer,and Gavin is just there. Juniper,though,is presented as more three dimensional here,and I quite like it.

The gameplay is off. The Mood Matrix is still fun to work,but the testimonies are once again very direct. At least the dialogue has its charm still,besides Myriam. The investigation,while not as boring as 5-2, still made me temporarily blank out. And why didn't we investigate outside the art room? I know that the body was moved,but we didn't know that,so we should've looked there. The presentation still irks me. The backgrounds look generic,and not in a good way,like 3-3 or 4-2. The anime cutscenes are freaking horrible (though that cutscene made me laugh).

Some miscellaneous stuff: at the end,why was everyone so happy,knowing that both their teachers were arrested and dead? Why is Gavin barely even used in this case? How come no one noticed Juniper's costume was a rip off of Lamiroir? Who actually thought that Gavin's voice was any good? Seriously,it fits PAYNE more than Klavier. PAYNE. Does a teacher for the prosecutor's course exist? If so,why do we never get to meet them? Why does Gavin play the Guitar's Serenade at the end,but no one notices?

Why is there even a judge's course? They could just say that you could take it after completing so and so trials as a lawyer,but why make a separate judge's course? I know it's AA,but it makes no sense to include that. Just remove the course,and make Courte the teacher for the prosecutor's course. And make Junie say that AFTER becoming a lawyer,she wants to be a judge. Problem solved.

Oops,sorry,Prosecutor Blackquill,looks like I went on a tangent there. Anyway....Turnabout Academy has a poor killer with an uninteresting motive,and the gameplay and presentation aren't that great. The mystery is alright,I guess,but I have a lot of problems with the setting and such. The characters,like I said,are good,and definitely save this case from being meh. So I'd say...6.475/10! That's it. See you soon!

Hint for the next one:A third case with haphazard logic,but an eerie atmosphere.

I have to disagree with you on the characters, particularly Robin. I hated how unnaturally she went from ULTRA SUPER MANLY to teehee I'm a girly girl. You just needed to say she's actually a girl and -BAM- instant girly girl. That didn't make her feel like a real character at all; it just felt like two one-dimensional characters spliced into one.Also, Athena had no business poking her nose where she did. Therapy, my butt. It's a court of law and there was zero reason to pursue what she did. Only after the fact did it become apparent that it might be relevant (and even then it was really thin and a stretch... and ultimately amounted to nothing).On that note, the friendship subplot failed to convince me. And I usually like friendship plots! (Heck, My Little Pony is my favorite show.) I don't know why this failed to convince me, but it just felt so tacked on instead of being something genuine.

I have to disagree with you on the characters, particularly Robin. I hated how unnaturally she went from ULTRA SUPER MANLY to teehee I'm a girly girl. You just needed to say she's actually a girl and -BAM- instant girly girl. That didn't make her feel like a real character at all; it just felt like two one-dimensional characters spliced into one.Also, Athena had no business poking her nose where she did. Therapy, my butt. It's a court of law and there was zero reason to pursue what she did. Only after the fact did it become apparent that it might be relevant (and even then it was really thin and a stretch... and ultimately amounted to nothing).On that note, the friendship subplot failed to convince me. And I usually like friendship plots! (Heck, My Little Pony is my favorite show.) I don't know why this failed to convince me, but it just felt so tacked on instead of being something genuine.

Spoiler: 40

I can see how you could hate the characters (and yeah,they were a bit too one note,even for AA), but I still kinda chuckled at their interactions from time to time.

Yeah,I think the only reason Athena is allowed to use the Mood Matrix is because the judge is a moron. So nothing new,really. :p

I liked the friendship plot because all the relations between the four characters were unique. Myriam and the others,Robin and Hugh,Juniper and Hugh....they all had their own thing going on and the plot twists actually got me regarding them.

Btw,have you checked out the non DGS case rankings yet? I'd like to hear your thoughts on them too,if you'd might.

And I'm kinda disappointed no ones trying to guess what the next one's going to be based on the hint given. But whatever,new one coming right up!

Gutten tach,everybody! Yes,welcome to our lovely concert! We hope you have an amazing time,ja? What? No,this isn't some type of twisted foreshadowing. But you can sit back and enjoy the show as our lead guitarist,number 39, takes the stage (and world) by storm. Acthung,baby!

I'm so sorry.

Spoiler: All the games

#39-Turnabout Big Top

What? I told you it wasn't foreshadowing! But anyway,the legendary case falls down gracefully like an acrobat! ...And then bops the ringmaster on the head. Oops. But does this case deserve all the hate it gets? Well,find out now!

As we're getting closer to the Good Tier (in fact,this is the last one in the Goodish Tier!),I feel I can't neglect speaking about one of the key factors of AA-the story behind each case. Everything before this,I felt,was too simplistic to warrant a whole paragraph,but it changes from here. The story here is what makes this case really neat. It's super dark and gloomy,and the conclusion to it is also like that. Very tragic overall,and I feel for the characters here.

The characters are also great. Except Ben and Trilo. They suck,taking up half of the first trial with their dumb pedophilia. But other than that,they're great. Acro,like many have said,tried to kill Regina in cold blood. But the fact that he immensely regrets all he did was nice,and fits in with the whole desperate killers thing JfA has going. Regina is like Pearl,but more happy. I actually kinda liked being around her,and she even learnt her own lesson at the end. Max was hilarious as a country bumpkin,and I can sympathise with his ambitiousness. It's just a pity that the other performers heavily misinterpreted it.

And finally,we have Moe. And...he's actually my favourite character. Sorry,you guys,but I find him way more sympathethic than Acro. He has a daughter of his own whom he can't see due to his estranged wife,thus giving him great parallels to Russell,and justifies his bad puns. Thus,he tries to help Regina out for her future. He even brings her to the trial to show her what really happened; a bold move on his part. And when there's confusion to what's going to happen next,he takes up the mantle for the next ringmaster,even bridging ties with Max. So...yeah,I love him. He's way more tridimensional than people give him credit for. But why is this so?

Because of the gameplay. His part in the trial is kinda dumb,as you're limited in terms of pressing,and these limitations are not stated. There's the thing in Ben and Trilo's testimony where you can't just present the ring immediately,but have to make Trilo specify that the gift was a ring. The investigations aren't any better either. You can actually miss out on what Max has to say on the first day,and the fetch quest for Trilo is abysmal. The mystery also isn't any better either. The twist at the end of the first trial is good,but that's overshadowed by the terrible twist with the cape at the end,which I dare say is physically impossible. The thing with the location of the bust wasn't good either. It was like this :

A.In SPACE!B.In the FUTURE!C.Under his wheelchair which you never got to see because anything below a character's waist isn't visible to the players

It wasn't a case of 'Which of these makes the most sense?',it was a case of 'Which of these is the least improbable?'

So yeah,that was Turnabout Big Top,and...it was better than people say. Its story and characters are beautiful,and the ending brings me rather close to tears. But the stupid gameplay and mystery really bring that down from being that great. Too much in fact. But I don't really hate the music that much,so... Therefore,a 6.48/10 should suffice. That's all. See you next time!

I agree with Moe being a great character for the reasons you mentioned. He was definitely the most mature one of the bunch, where everyone else was being childish in their own way. I also could really sympathize with Acro and felt sorry for him in the end. What was really powerful was the moment he said "No. I'm just a murderer."As for the ending twist with the bust's location, I feel like I'm the only one who liked it and thought it was clever. I figured it out right when you were supposed to make the choice thanks to Phoenix's lead-in that wasn't too vague nor too obvious. The only reason the bust couldn't be found is that Acro hid it on his person. Also, I think the ending question is two-tiered, so it's not just a case of choosing what's least improbable. First you have to pick the general location (Courthouse) and then the specific location within that general location (Witness bench).

I agree with Moe being a great character for the reasons you mentioned. He was definitely the most mature one of the bunch, where everyone else was being childish in their own way. I also could really sympathize with Acro and felt sorry for him in the end. What was really powerful was the moment he said "No. I'm just a murderer."As for the ending twist with the bust's location, I feel like I'm the only one who liked it and thought it was clever. I figured it out right when you were supposed to make the choice thanks to Phoenix's lead-in that wasn't too vague nor too obvious. The only reason the bust couldn't be found is that Acro hid it on his person. Also, I think the ending question is two-tiered, so it's not just a case of choosing what's least improbable. First you have to pick the general location (Courthouse) and then the specific location within that general location (Witness bench).

Spoiler: 39

I'm glad we agree on the greatness that is Moe at least.Like I said,the part where Acro says he's truly sorry makes him very sympathethic. Now if only his motivations weren't skewed,he'd be higher for me.I guess you have a point on that last one,but the question being two tiered isn't that great. The Courthouse seems stupid at first,but then the second one...saying it's with the prosecution or the judge is a death wish. So of course it has to be with Acro!

Either way,next time we'll see the start of the Good Tier,where hopefully my incessant rambling decreases manifold. I'm looking forward to that myself.

Yawn,next one. It's been a long day,so let's start up already. Number 38!

Oh,but before that. I'm glad to announce that we've finally reached...The Good TierNow most of my complaints dissipate as the cases start getting good,as the title implies. The tutorial case(s) here are some of the better ones,but the final case(s) here are not really that good,but better than the others. But most of these cases are just filler and buildup cases. Their score is from 6.5, but not above or equal to 7. So let's start with the first one in this tier,number 38...

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Spoiler: All the games

#38-Turnabout Target

And the first one from AAI2 falls! Just so you know,I'll be using the fanslation names for these cases to prevent confusion here. But I'm expecting this one to be one of the more controversial ones because honestly,while it does have its moments (well,obviously,that's why it's this high), I find this case to honestly be...pretty boring for the most part. This case and the second case in particular I feel to be rather uninteresting besides those special moments. But why? Let's see now!

Now this one begins WITHOUT showing the killer for once,and...this time we aren't even sure who the victim is. No,really,we don't know if anyone's died just yet,so we're only searching for the mysterious assassin. But things quickly escalate,and we're in the midst of chaos.

The mystery itself is honestly boring through and through. It's nice and complex,but mayhaps a bit too complex for a first case? I dunno,all this talk about guns and positions wasn't very interesting for me,and in the end,I wasn't even really there for the most part. Turnabout Trump I felt kept the actual contradictions nice and simple with a few hardballs,but I never was bored by it.

The whodunit was good in the first part,with de Killer as a literal red herring,but in the second part,I felt that it obviously was Knightley. His motive wasn't very complex either. I know I said that I'd talk about the story more,but besides its connection to the overall plot, this case is barebones in terms of story.

The things that make the mystery though,are the big twists. Like the 'shooter' being Nicole,the assassination being faked,et cetera. They just really impressed me so much in a 'Wow,I didn't see that coming but...I should have' kind of way. Other than that,the mystery is unspectacular though. The pacing too was skewed. Instead of three 1 hour sections,we get two 1.5 hour sections,which only serves to unnecessarily elongate everything further.

The gameplay doesn't really help that either. The testimonies here were frank and simple,but weren't interesting. The investigations were like that too,too much so even. Like the part where you say,"That red thing on the president's head is a laser pointer!' It's simple,but why do we need to point it out? And I don't think I've mentioned this,but like in DD,the characters tell you what to do before the testimony. That's not very fun or challenging. Logic Chess was alright,but didn't really go anywhere here. I just went,'Oh cool a new mechanic ok done' every time.

The characters aren't the best. Kay has no business being here besides taking conveniently timed photos. Nicole,despite being a good red herring,felt to me like a Lotta Hart clone in the end. Shelly was an even better red herring,and serves as a good cliffhanger,but...doesn't do that much. Edgeworth and Gumshoe were just their usual selves though.

The fanservice,once again felt unnecessary. The Steel Samurai balloon was there to just once again elongate stuff,and the Larry mention was unneeded considering we don't even meet him here (thank god for that though). The event taking place at Gourd Lake was also weird. And why did the prez even fly here if he already was there at the embassy a couple of days back,as mentioned by Swift?

So in the end,while Turnabout Target has a complex mystery and a long plot,those work against it in a sense to drag the case further. The characters and gameplay were mediocre,and the fanservice was just there for the sake of fanservice. The big twists and red herrings were really good though,but if you'd ask me,I wouldn't replay this case that much. 6.5/10.

Next time,a case taking place in a place no one can leave very easily....a locked room mystery of sorts.

I honestly remember so very little of the Investigations games, I don't know if there is much I can comment on. I agree with Nicole feeling like a Lotta Hart clone, though.Also, "literal red herring"... The word literal does not mean what you think it means =PI'm guessing the next one is 2-2? There are a few others that might qualify, but the most obvious one is 2-2

I honestly remember so very little of the Investigations games, I don't know if there is much I can comment on. I agree with Nicole feeling like a Lotta Hart clone, though.Also, "literal red herring"... The word literal does not mean what you think it means =PI'm guessing the next one is 2-2? There are a few others that might qualify, but the most obvious one is 2-2

Spoiler: 38

I was referring to de Killer when I said literal red herring. Because he wore the red raincoat. Nicole wore her parka though,so they're both great literal red herrings.

I like paper. But writing virtually saves paper. This of course,has nothing to do with anything. It's just extravagant filler. How appropriate....number 37, please come up!

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Spoiler: All the games

#37-Turnabout Airlines

Now,not much of you might've been expecting this case,but I think that this position is perfect for it. Why? You'll see.

This case has a strange opening,what with the weird reversing of events thing. I don't even think it's relevant to the case,I think they just wanted to show off the DS capabilities. But then it shows Edgeworth in 'grape juice',which looks like blood. I think we all were scared here.

The mystery here is good for a second case. I think it's because the pacing here is just right for a second case. Not too long,not too short. The only other case which I think sorta nails that pacing is 6-2, but we'll come to that later. The whodunnit was alright,though I figured it was Cammy the second she appeared. I think I'm just sick of the protagonist being accused of the crime,and this was my breaking point.

The motive wasn't exactly complex,and I felt that it was just a cheap way to tie into the 'overall plot'. The twists I felt that were really good we're the victim's identity and his cause of death. Other than that,the mystery was alright. Though why is the plane so big? Even jumbo jets don't have that big a hold.The story is nothing remarkable. Like I said,it's just a cheap way to tie into the overall plot. It's simple and bare bones,but I'll let it slide here since it's still teaching us the basics.

The gameplay and presentation are both simple,but work well enough. The testimonies are simple,and the investigations are too. But they're nice and fun,and never really bored me like I-3 or I2-1. The logic stuff is still on point,and the part where Lablanc fell is REALLY well executed.

The characters are jolly good fun! Rhoda is a fun sidekick,as her stoic facade slowly crumbles as you progress. The way she slowly trusts in you is fun. And her suitcases are...er....alright? Cammy is a fun culprit,though I'm sad she didn't get a Presto testimony. I think this is the closest we've ever come to having the assistant do it.

Lablanc is bleh. Ugly colour scheme and design,but never gets interesting. I feel that's the problem with most Investigation characters (I.e everyone from I-3, Elbird,Young,and so on). The returning characters are good. I like the sibling rivalry going on with Edgeworth and Franziska. There's a weird Sal cameo (I thought he was arrested for being an accomplice?), and what people claim to be Starr,but I don't see the resemblance myself.

So that was Turnabout Airlines! Nothing really bad with it as a whole,as you can see,but....it didn't really offer much,so it's kinda forgettable. But it was fun the whole way through,and it kept my interest held for the most part. So a 6.502/10 should do.It's sad that we're more than halfway through AAI and so far the best it's got to offer is 'nothing too bad,but somewhat unmemorable'. Either way,I'll see you tomorrow!

Next time,a flashback case where you play as someone other than the protagonist.

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